TELL ME A STORY…
OF THE OLD WEST.
Traveling the Smoky Valley Scenic Byway and
Western Vistas Historic Byway
Glacial Hills
7
81
Western
Vistas
Post Rock
70
Native Stone
70
59
Topeka
335
Smoky Valley
56
Prairie
Trail
Wetlands & Wildlife
283
35
Emporia
Flint Hills
135
183
281
Gypsum Hills
Wichita
69
35
Frontier Military
This two-day itinerary takes you off Interstate 70 and onto two Kansas byways rich with scenic and
historic landscapes.
Day One: Smoky Valley Scenic Byway
WaKeeney
Depart I-70 at Ogallah (Exit 135). Head south on K-147 (the Smoky Valley Scenic Byway) to Brownell (27 miles).
Go west on US-4 toward Ransom (10 miles). To continue along the byway, go north on US-283 to WaKeeney
(29 miles). Total distance: 66 miles
TREGO
WaKeeney
2
283
Ogallah
70
1147
Ransom
4
Brownell
Kansas City
177
Salina
The Story – Smoky Valley Scenic Byway
(60 miles)
The vista of ranches along the route includes
some of the last open ranges of the high plains
and a sampling of Fort Hays limestone and
niobrara limestone. The discovery of gold in the
western Kansas Territory (known now as
Colorado) created a “rush” of immigrants, miners
and con men seeking to make real their dream
of easy riches. In 1865, the Butterfield Overland
Despatch established passenger and freight stage
service from Atchison, Kansas to Denver, Colorado. The Kansas Pacific Railroad (later the Union
Pacific Railroad-Eastern Division) began pushing west, parallel to the
Smoky Hill trail run by the Butterfield line. As the stage lines and railroads
expanded west, settlements began to form along the route.
NESS
The Byway Experience Today
The Smoky Hills are named for their hazy blue-gray hues at
sunrise and sunset. The area is steeped in the rich history of
the westward movement of the pioneers along the Smoky
Hill Trail and those early settlers whose vision was to make this fertile untamed land
their own. Hoping to preserve the natural beauty along their byway, residents began
hand-gathering wildflower seeds, then re-seeding road shoulders, creating a beautiful
spring and summer carpet of color. The mixed prairie grasses transition to short grasses
along the byway. Grazing pastures or farmland dotted with windmills are frequent sites
in the Smoky Valley.
View from the Car Window:
Trees are rare along the prairie, but their presence holds some clues to the land. See
a group of trees? Look for a homestead or farm. See a strung-out ribbon of trees? They
probably border a river or creek. “Horse high, bull strong and hog tight” describes rows
of trees lining roads or fields planted not only as protective wind breaks, but also to keep out wandering
cattle. In the fall, it is easy to spot an unusually-shaped green fruit on the trees or ground along the
road. These are “hedge apples,” a product of the Osage Orange or “hedge” trees.
Don’t Miss:
Butterfield Overland Despatch markers and trail ruts; Emanuel Lutheran Church, built from native
limestone quarried along the byway.
On Your MP3 Player or Radio:
Judy Collin’s Wildflowers album (1967) or Tom Petty’s Wildflowers (1994).
1 Worth a Detour – Cedar Bluff State Park
An unpaved gravel road, passable in good weather, bisects the byway at Cedar Bluff State Park. Here
you’ll find primitive camping, RV camp sites and cabins, fishing, boating, hunting, swimming, hiking, BMX
tracks, stunning 100’ limestone cliffs that drop into the reservoir, and wildlife viewing – especially deer,
hawks, ducks, geese and owls. At the Cedar Bluff Visitor’s Center, ask if Threshing Machine Canyon is open.
It’s worth the visit.
2 The Story – WaKeeney
WaKeeney was founded halfway between Ft. Leavenworth and Denver, hoping to provide wagon
trains, the Butterfield Overland Despatch stage line, western immigrants and, eventually, the railroads a
waystation for rest and supplies.
The Byway Experience Today
Albert Warren and James Keeney purchased land from the railroad and plotted their “Queen City of
the High Plains.” Times were tough for the fledgling town and its settlers, but the arrival of the railroad
assured growth would come. A courthouse was built, along with many other businesses on a wide, brick
Main Street. Today, that street accommodates a 40’ Christmas tree and some 6,000 lights to transform
WaKeeney into the “Christmas City” of Kansas during the holiday season.
Don’t Miss:
Dine at the Western Kansas Saloon & Grill, located in the Old Krause Hardware store. Patrons upstairs
used to drop a coin through the hole in the floor to alert gamblers in the basement that lawmen were on
their way.
Continue west to overnight in Scott City before starting the Western Vistas Historic Byway.
Directions: From WaKeeney, rejoin I-70 and travel west 25 miles to Exit 93. Go south on K-23 through Gove to
Dighton. Head west approximately 24 miles on K-96 to Scott City, the starting point of the Western Vistas Historic
Byway. Total distance: 94 miles
Day Two: Western Vistas Historic Byway
Scott City • Oakley • Wallace • Sharon Springs
Directions: Travel US-83 North from Scott City to Lake Scott State Park detour to Monument
Rocks National Landmark, then continue north to Oakley (50 miles). Head west on US-40 to
Wallace and end the byway experience at Sharon Springs. Total distance: 103 miles
The Story – Western Vistas Historic Byway (102 miles)
The badlands of Western Kansas are visually breathtaking, with pinnacles of
limestone rising above the plains. These vast open plains provided herds of migrating
WALLACE
Winona
70
5 Oakley
4
6
Sharon Springs
LOGAN
3
2 83
1 Scott City
Wallace
40
SCOTT
bison with rich grasslands for grazing and immense space
for what would become known as “America’s Breadbasket.”
The success of those early farmers and ranchers helped
draw additional emigrants from the East. They came on
horseback, by wagon train, and, eventually, by rail as
Americans continued to explore their destiny in the West. The
press of immigration soon began to intrude on the hunting
grounds of tribes of America’s Plains Indians. This led to a
series of battles and the placement of several forts along the
Smoky Valley Trail toward the “wildest Fort in Kansas”–Fort
Wallace. This geographic area is world renowned for its fossil
discoveries and fossils continue to be found today.
Famous People:
The immense buffalo herds that had provided necessary food and supplies for
the American Indians were decimated largely by indiscriminate hunting by the late
1880’s. William F. Cody earned his nickname “Buffalo Bill” in 1868, after a buffalohunting contest with William Comstock held near present day Oakley. Conflict with
the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, Prairie Apache and other Indians fighting to protect
their way of life, brought famous Union Generals: George Armstrong Custer, William
T. Sherman, Phil Sheridan, and the famous “Buffalo Soldiers” of the US 10th Cavalry to
the region, to name a few.
On Your MP3 Player or Radio:
Enjoy listening to Diamond W Wranglers, Kansas musicians who sing of cattle
drives, riding horses, nature’s splendor and a nostalgic look at cowboy life.
1 The Story – Scott City
The El Quartelejo Museum will lead the visitor through a historic timeline including fossils, early Indian
encampment scenes as well as a replica of the El Quartelejo ruins. See Old Western Art at the Jerry
Thomas Art Gallery.
The Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad Company (CK&O) was chartered in 1913 to utilize the Scott
City to Winona rail line previously laid by the Gulf and Northern Railroad in 1910. Financial difficulties
persisted and with the onset of World War I the federal government took control of the line as a war
measure. By December 21, 1917, the rails were junked, providing badly needed steel for the war effort,
and the rolling stock was sold.
2 Worth a Detour:
Located just south of Lake Scott State Park, Battle Canyon represents the last desperate encounter
between American Indians and the United States troops in the State of Kansas during the year 1878. A
historical monument overlooks the cave, two canyons and bluffs where the battle took place.
Don’t Miss:
Keystone Gallery in Scott City; Buffalo Bill Sculpture; Fick Fossil & History Museum in Oakley; and Fort
Wallace Museum & Cemetery in Wallace.
3 The Story - Lake Scott State Park & El Quartelejo Ruins
Ladder Creek Canyon was acquired by the State of Kansas in 1929. The next year, Ladder Creek was
dammed to create 100-acre Lake Scott. Between 1933 and 1942 over 35,000 Kansans were enrolled in
the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and more than 2,700 supervisory personnel were employed on
48 projects scattered around the state. Today, the facility offers canoe and boat rentals, fishing,
camping, riding and hiking. The park has 55 utility campsites, many with electrical and water hookups,
as well as cabins, 100 primitive camping sites and three shower buildings.
El Quartelejo, or “Little Barracks,” is the northernmost pueblo in the
United States, and only pueblo discovered in Kansas. Believed to be the
former home of Pueblo Indians from New Mexico seeking to escape
Spanish domination in the 1660s, it was established along the Ladder
Creek tributary of the Smoky Hill in present day Scott County. There are
indications that Spanish and French took over the outpost, but it was
abandoned after 1763. Discovered in 1898, the ruins are made of stone
and adobe and may have had as many as seven rooms. Near the ruins
are indications of a primitive irrigation system used to supply fields with
water. Located within Lake Scott State Park, El Quartelejo was designated
in 1964 as a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service.
Worth a Detour:
Western Vistas has identified secondary and unpaved routes that contribute to the story of Kansas
and western migration. Along these routes are historic sites including the town of Russell Springs, the
Wallace Branch of the Western Cattle Trail, the Butterfield Overland Despatch (B.O.D.)/Smoky Hill Trail,
The Nature Conservancy site, and Mt Sunflower, the highest point in Kansas.
4 The Story – Monument Rocks National Landmark
Time and erosion carved breathtaking rock formations throughout this region. Rising as high as 70
feet along the Smoky Hill, the eighty million year old arches, buttes and pinnacles, including Monument
Rocks and “Little Jerusalem,” provide unique examples of Kansas natural history and beauty.
5 The Story – Oakley
The Fick Fossil & History Museum in Oakley houses a collection of exhibits ranging from the
prehistoric to the modern. From skeletons of mosasaurs – marine reptiles that once swam in the
waters of the vast inland sea that covered this area more than 65 million years ago – to more than 1500
photographs of pioneer Kansas are on display. Visit one of the “8 Wonders of Kansas Art” by stopping at
the twice life-sized bronze sculpture of Buffalo Bill on his horse in pursuit of a buffalo.
6 The Story – Wallace
Incursions into the rich hunting grounds by eastern settlers and domestic livestock
set the stage for conflicts that became the Indian Wars of the West. Fort Wallace,
known as “the Fightin-est Fort in the West” was established in 1865 to protect
travelers and the small settlements struggling to survive along the Smoky Hill Trail.
Fort Wallace was the westernmost of a string of forts along the Smoky Hill Trail.
By 1867, the fort housed more than 500 troops and fought more battles against
Indians than any other in the West. Little remains now of this strategic outpost
except the cemetery; stop at the Fort Wallace Museum for more of the history of
the town and region.
Kansas is called “The Breadbasket of the Nation” for good reason. Kansas’ climate
makes it possible to grow more wheat here than in any other state. But it’s not the only crop:
Kansas often leads the nation in the production of sorghum, corn, milo, and sunflowers. Travel Kansas in
early summer to witness first-hand the “amber waves of grain” made famous in “America the Beautiful.”
This rich mixture of grains and wide-open plains led to the importation of cattle.
Directions: From Sharon Springs, travel north on K-27 (approximately 30 miles) to rejoin I-70 at Goodland.
Smoky Valley Scenic Byway (60 miles)
1 Cedar Bluff Reservoir,
State Park and Wildlife Area
32001 147 Hwy
Ellis, KS 67637
Phone: (785) 726-3212
http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us
2 WaKeeney
WaKeeney Travel & Tourism
Phone: 1-877-962-7248, (785) 743-8325
www.wakeeney.org
Western Kansas Saloon & Grill
121 N Main St
WaKeeney, KS 67672
Phone: (785) 743-2050
Western Vistas Historic Byway (102 miles)
1 Scott City
Scott City Chamber of Commerce
Phone: (620) 872-3525
http://www.scottcitycofc.com
2 Battle Canyon
520 W Scott Lake Dr
Near Lake Scott State Park
Scott City, KS 67871
Phone: (620) 872-3525
http://www.scottcity.com
3 Lake Scott State Park & El Quartelejo Ruins
520 W Scott Lake Dr
Scott City, KS 67871
Phone: (620) 872-2061
http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us
4 Monument Rocks National Landmark
Jayhawk Rd.
4 miles east of US-83, 25 miles South of Oakley
Oakley, KS 67748
Phone: (785) 671-1000
http://www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/Registry/USA_Map/
States/Kansas/NNL/MR/index.cfm
5 Oakley
Oakley Area Tourism Office
Phone: (785) 672-4839
http://www.DiscoverOakley.com
6 Wallace & Sharon Springs
Wallace County Economic Development
Phone: (785) 852-4935